Plate holder



June 17, 1947. C RlCHARDs 2,422,261

' PLATE? HOLDER Filed Nov. 22, 1944 HTTO/ENE Y Patented June 17, 1947UNITED STATES iPA'iENT OFFICE;

PLATE HOLDEF? Charles Richards, Quincy, Mass.

Application November 22, 1944, SerialN'o. 5643662 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a holder for displayinga plateor the like.

The invention hasfor an object to provide a novel and improved plateholder for supporting a plate on edge for display and decorativepurposes, whichis simplein structure and which may be economicallymanufactured.

Withthis-general object in View and such others asma'yhereinafterappear, the invention consists intheplate holder hereinafter describedand parti cularly defined in the claims at the end of thisspecification.

In the. drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe invention,Fig. 1v is a perspective view of a plate holder embodying the presentinvention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 is a frontelevation partly in cross section to. be hereinafter. referred to.

In general, the-present invention contemplates a-noveland improved plateholder adapted to rest onxa flat surface such as a table. or shelfandhaving. provision for. supporting a circular or irregularshapedp'late orv the like on edge in a. substantially verticalorslightly tilted position for display purposes in a safe and evenlybalanced manner. To this end, the present plate holder is provided witha base portion having spaced grooves for engaging the periphery of theplate at spacedpoints and having a back rest againstwhich the back ofthe plate rests to display'the plate at a slight angle from thevertical.

In practice the bas portion; comprises a T- shapedstructure having itslegs. extended-over a relatively wide area and proportioned so as toreduceto aminimum liability of'tipping or overbalancing of the unit whensupporting a relatively large or heavy plate. In the illustratedembodiment of the invention the provision of spaced grooved members andthe disposition of the back rest provides a three point contact with theplate, that is, the periphery of the plate is engaged at two spacedpoints and the back of the plate at one point, the whole beingproportioned so as to provide a safely balanced structure designed tominimize the liability of the plate rolling out sideways, slipping outof the grooves or tipping over should the unit be jarred.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrated plate holder comprises aT-shaped base It] having a transverse portion l2 extending across thefront of the unit and a leg l4 extending rearwardly from substantiallythe center of the transverse base portion l2. Equidistantly spaced fromthe center of the transverse portion l2, a pair of grooved rim engagingmembers i6, iii are provided for engaging the periphery of the plate 2%!at spaced points along its lower edge; and; upstanding from' therearward'l'y extended? le'g Hi is an upright member 22 comprising a backrest for the plate, as illustrated. The structure isparticularlysuitable for manufacture from the var ious mouldable plastic materials,from wood, or any other material which may prove of advantage and may berelatively light in'wei'ght ascom pared to theweight of the platewhichit is adapted to support.

As herein shown; the rim engaging members or blocks l6", {8 are mountedon the" top of or formed integrally with the transverse portion l2 andare providedwith grooves or slots 24 25 extending substantiallydiagonally across the inner corners of the blocks l6, [8; and, as bestshown in Fig. 3, the slotted portion may be concave. to provide recessesas indicated at 28} so that a relatively small portion 3t of the closedend of each slot engages the periphery ofthe plateto be supported Inother words the curvature: of the concave recesses is intentionally madeto differ from that of the pla-teswhich'the un-it 'i'sd'esigned-to-supp'ort. The recesses 23 Bit'also provide clearance forthat portion of the plateextending between the rim engaging portions- 3iand the latter are disposed-at a-height sufficientto support thelowermost-edge-of the plate free-of the topsurface of the transverseportion i=2. closed ends 3 of the spaced slots engaging the plateprevent the same from rolling o'utsideways and the side walls of:the-slotengage the sides-of the plate to prevent the same from slippingforward or backward; The. slots-mayand .preferably will be of sufiicientwidth to provide ample clearance for a relatively thick plate.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the upstanding back rest 22 is mounted on orformed integrally with the rearwardlyextended leg It, the back restbeing of a predetermined height and spaced from the rim engaging memberl6, [8 so as to support the plate at an appropriate angle from thevertical for display purposes. The distance from the front face of theback rest to the rim engaging members is preferably made relativelyshort and the height of the back rest is proportionately short, thusreducing to a minimum the overall dimensions of the unit. Thus, as shownin Fig. 2, the back rest is disposed to support the plate at an angle ofapproximately 15 degrees from the vertical and the point of engagementof the back rest with the plate is below the center of the plate. Asmaller diameter plate may be engaged a slight distance above the centerthereof, but, in general,

the back rest is preferably of a height such as to engage the averagesize plate to be displayed (about eight inches in diameter) atapproximately the center thereof, or, at most, a relatively shortdistance above or below the center according to the diameter of theplate. This structure, together with the extension of the leg l4rearwardly, for a substantial distance beyond the back rest 22 ensuresstability of the unit even when subjected to jarring.

In order that the plate may be balanced in the unit, it will be observedthat the leg [4 of the base extends a substantial distance beyond theface of the back rest, thus counteracting any tendency of the plate totip over backward. Thus in practice,

the unit may be proportioned so that the distance from the front face ofthe transverse member [2 to the further end of the rearwardly extendedmember I4 is at least twice the distance from said front face to theface of the back rest '22, and, the height of the back rest from thefloor will not exceed the distance from said front face to the end ofthe rearwardly extended member IQ. Also,

the length of the transverse portion |2Imay be substantially twice thatof the rearwardly extended leg l4.

From the above description it will be observed that the present plateholder is designed to accommodate plates of a wide range of sizes, thegrooved rim engaging members being arranged to support the rim ofdifferent diameter plates at spaced points and in a manner such as todispose the lowermost edge of the plate free from engagement with theupper surface of the transverse member I2. It will also be observed thatthe grooved rim engaging members are designed to prevent lateraldisplacement of the plate from the unit, and that the unit is soproportioned that although the unit may be relatively light in weightand the overall dimensions thereof relatively small, the unit is enabledto support a, relatively large and heavy plate without danger ofoverbalancing and tipping.

It will be observed that the present unit is simple in construction andlends itself to manufacture at minimum expense.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been hereinillustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention maybe embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A plate holder for supporting a plate for disin the preferredembodiment of the invention,

being provided with grooves extending from their inner and adjacentfaces to the upper surfaces thereof, each groove having sidewalls and anouter end wall and being opened at its inner face, said. walls beingadapted to cooperate with the rim portion of a, plate supported in thegrooves and upon the base member, to prevent forward, rearward andlateral displacement of the plate from the grooves, said longitudinalmember having an upright supporting member adapted to engage and Supportthe back ofthe plate.

2. A plate holder for supporting a plate for display purposes comprisinga T-shaped base structure having a transversely extended forward memberand a longitudinal member extended rearwardly therefrom, said transversemember.

having two spaced-apart rim-engaging members and an intermediateportiondisposed below said rim-engaging portions, the inner and adjacentfaces and the upper surfaces of said rim-engaging members being providedwith grooves, each groove having sidewalls and an outer end wall andbeing opened at its inner face, said walls being adapted to cooperatewith th rimmed portion of a plate supported in the grooves and upon thebase member to prevent forward, rearward and lateral displacement of theplate from the grooves, said longitudinal member having an uprightsupporting member adapted to engage and support the back of the plate,said transversely 7 extended forward member, said rearwardly extendedlongitudinal member, and said upright being formed integrally with oneanother.

CHARLES RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date Timberlake Apr. 23, 1907

